Section 1: Spain - The Spanish Empire reached its height during the reign of Charles's son, Philip II, who became king in 1556. - In 1580, Philip II of Spain enforced his claim to the Portuguese throne by invading and conquering the country. - Spain gained control of the Philippine Islands during the late 1500's. - Spain also fought to defend western Europe from the expanding Ottoman Empire. Philip's rule brought the beginning of the Golden Age of …showed first 75 words of 2929 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2929 total…tightened the landowners' control over the serfs. - Under Catherine the Great, Russia rose to new importance as a major world power. In the late 1700's, Austria, Prussia, and Russia gradually divided Poland among themselves. - Russia gained nearly all of Belarus, Lithuania, and Ukraine from Poland. In wars against the Ottoman Empire (based in present-day Turkey), Russia gained the Crimea and other Ottoman lands. Catherine died in 1796. She was succeeded by her son, Paul.